A group of community leaders in San Diego is renewing its call for City Hall and the Legislature to drop a pair of measures that would ban single-use plastic bags.

The activists said state Senate Bill 270, sponsored by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, and a proposed ordinance in San Diego would harm low-income and working-class families while enriching grocers.

The statewide legislation would, among other things, require most retailers to no longer provide single-use plastic bags and charge at least 10 cents for a paper, compostable or reusable bag. If enacted as law, it would take effect in mid-2015 in all areas of California that haven't instituted a ban on plastic bags.

San Diego’s proposed ordinance, which the City Council could vote on this year, is similar to the state bill in terms of the envisioned ban and 10-cent provision. Both measures would allow retailers to keep the money they charge for non-plastic bags, a point of contention for the local group of critics.

These opponents said many San Diegans can’t afford to pay a dime for each non-plastic bag, a fee that they said would quickly add up over time. They also said it’s impractical for people who use public transportation to routinely carry a reusable bag with them.

“Our leaders should be focusing on things that help San Diego’s working families, not hurt them. The big corporate grocery giants are going to make millions of dollars off this,” Mark Arabo, president and CEO of the nonprofit Neighborhood Market Association, said Friday. Other members of the group include Bishop George McKinney, pastor of St. Stephen’s Cathedral Church of God in San Diego and senior-citizen advocate Kathleen Harmon.

In a bid to address the economics issue, San Diego has started a program in which businesses and others can donate reusable bags or give money for the city to buy the bags and distribute them free of charge.